Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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groom

Balance

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Chimpanzees have a well-deserved reputation for being aggressive. They fight over food, over sex, and over territory. They fight for dominance and out of jealousy.

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Sometimes I don’t think they even know why they are fighting – some fights among the seven end with all of them standing in a circle, screaming and looking around at each other as if to see if anyone else remembers what they are fighting about.

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But as violent as chimps may be, fights are relatively infrequent. They are much more likely to be hugging,

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and kissing,

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and grooming,

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and holding hands (and feet).

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I used to think it was strange that animals capable of such extreme violence could be so tender and gentle. But I’m beginning to think it’s precisely because they are so violent that they are also so tender and gentle. A society with that level of aggression would not last long without an equally powerful force holding it together.

Boots and Grooming

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As J.B. explained a few weeks ago, Jamie has a particular need from her caregivers lately – that we put on cowboy boots and run or walk around the hill while she walks or runs on the other side of the fencing. She goes back inside the greenhouse once she is satisfied with this activity. Sometimes this is after just one lap around the hill, and sometimes it takes two, or three, or four. Once she’s back in the building, she often wants the boot that she’s been “chasing.”

Lately, though, she doesn’t want the boot immediately. Rather, she wants to sit in the greenhouse and groom the boot while the caregiver is still wearing it. This is precisely what we did this morning.

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jamie groom caregiver boot

 

And she groomed my knee for a little while too:

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I’m sure all of Jamie’s caregivers would agree that there is very little in life more gratifying than satisfying Jamie.

taking care of the boss

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As we’ve mentioned before, grooming is an important aspect of chimpanzee culture. Between lunch and dinner in the afternoon is probably the most popular time for grooming among the Cle Elum Seven.

Even though she’s the boss, Jamie is not always the center of grooming. Missy grooms Jamie fairly often (see some photos from about a year ago on this blog post).

Missy grooming Jamie

But Burrito is a less frequent grooming partner to Jamie.

Today Burrito and Missy were both grooming Jamie at the same time as they all sat in front of one of the windows on the catwalk of the playroom.

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Burrito kept looking at me while I was taking photos.

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Conflict and Reassurance

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Foxie and Burrito are very good friends. But even best friends fight from time to time.

This morning, as we were preparing to serve breakfast, Burrito launched into a display in the outdoor area. He had been on edge all morning and his display was probably a little more aggressive than usual. I couldn’t see what happened, but in an instant there was a lot of screaming and Burrito was tearing back into the playroom with Foxie hot on his heels. A few seconds later, the girls had him cornered, and Foxie tackled him from behind.

When chimps fight, everything happens so quickly that it’s difficult to make out what exactly happened. But after the fight had ended, Burrito was left with a cut above his eye, a cut on his back, and a huge bruise to his ego.

The rest of the day was uneventful but tense, as Burrito’s conflict with Foxie and the other girls still had not been resolved. Chimps seek out reassurance, often immediately after a fight, but Burrito and Foxie had not yet made up. So later in the afternoon, Burrito launched into a brief display and then dove into Foxie’s arms. They hugged momentarily and then spent 15 minutes quietly grooming one another. Burrito found the reassurance he was looking for.